From attitudes to behaviour: Basic and applied research on the theory of planned behaviour

Abstract

The present article traces the development of the theory of planned behaviour, from early research on the attitude-behaviour relationship through the theory of reasoned action. In particular, it is argued that a perceived lack of correspondence between attitude and behaviour led to examination of variables that either moderated (e.g., attitude strength, measurement correspondence) or mediated (behavioura! intention) the relationship between attitudes and behaviour. Several meta-analytic reviews provide strong empirical support for the theory of planned behaviour, yet several applied and basic issues need to be resolved. The six papers that make up the remainder of this special issue address several of these issues.

Salivary testosterone and cortisol are jointly related to pro-environmental behavior in men

“…Taken together, these findings suggest that effects of testosterone and cortisol manifest more strongly on the behavioral rather than on a cognitive/emotional level. This reinforces the notion that people's attitudes and actions are two different things (e.g., Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977;Armitage & Christian, 2003). Possibly, the link between endocrine factors and attitudes is weaker because it is more strongly influenced by intervening and moderating variables.…”

“…Correlations between pro-environmental behaviors and attitudes are typically only moderate (Bamberg & Möser, 2007), which is in line with the well-known social psychological findings of inconsistent relationships between attitudes and related behaviors (e.g., Ajzen & Fishbein, 1977;Armitage & Christian, 2003). Notably, most of the studies described above reported endocrine influences on the extent of undesirable behavior such as violence, aggression, or dominance.…”

Intentions of UK Farmers toward Biofuel Crop Production: Implications for Policy Targets and Land Use Change

“…Beliefs about the presence of issues that may help or hinder performance of the behavior give rise to perceived behavioral control (7). Importantly, each aspect can be weighted, as behavioral intention is predicted to be influenced only by those aspects which are salient to the individual, and this may vary from person to person (8). Figure 1 provides an overview of the theory.…”

Evaluating communication to optimise consumer-directed energy efficiency interventions

“…Figure 3 illustrates how ELM variables are potentially antecedents of TPB variables, which in turn are the antecedents of behaviour change. (This paper concentrates on relationships between the two theories, not inter-relationships within the TPB, which are well documented elsewhere (Armitage and Christian, 2003;Armitage and Conner, 2001;Hardeman et al, 2002).) ELM and TPB variables are potential links in a chain from communication to behaviour.…”